Most of Gaston was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1980.
Founding year: the first Gaston post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gaston’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gaston is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gaston’s overall grade.
South Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical South Carolina town has 3.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Gaston’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Gaston’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area was occupied by sawmills, family farms, and turpentine stills until about 1890.
A line of the South Bound Railroad was built through the settlement in 1891, and a station called "Gaston" was erected, named after Gaston Raoul, a railroad engineer's nephew.
Gaston incorporated in 1894, and the town grew slowly in population, with forestry and farming dominant industries in the area.
Three African Americans accused of rape were murdered by vigilantes in 1893, and "their mangled bodies were left hanging beside the railroad as a warning to other African-Americans."
U.S. Route 321 enabled Gaston to prosper in the 20th century.
The Gaston post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Gaston rank for history?
Gaston is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Gaston?
4% of Gaston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1989.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
